Monday, April 1, 2013

Ben & Jerry's Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt Review

[By Nick, New for 2013, Discontinued after 2014] When Ben & Jerry’s first announced that it would be releasing a 30 Rock flavor I was pretty excited. Not because I’m a fan of the show (I’ve actually never watched an episode in my life) but because I found out one of the main characters is named is Liz Lemon. There aren't many lemon flavors out there and what kept flashing in my mind was Three Twins Lemon Cookie. Now Three Twins isn’t distributed in my area so I can’t try their flavor so I was really hoping Ben & Jerry’s would pull through for me.

When the day came that they revealed the flavor I was very disappointed. It was indeed named after Liz Lemon but instead of it being the lemon cookie ice cream I had hoped for it was “lemon greek frozen yogurt with a blueberry lavender swirl”. Now I can understand the combination of blueberries and lemon but you lost me at the inclusion of lavender. When I think of lavender, all I think of about is cheap perfume and smelly soap. I don’t know about you, but I want to eat neither of those.

I don’t even think I can come up with anything positively associated with lavender. Sure in the Kanto region, there is a place called Lavender town. That town isn’t all that positive though. The Pokémon Tower, which houses the graves of departed Pokemon, resides there. Visions of that poor orphan Cubone mourning the death of his mother still haunt me. You’ll never be forgotten Momma Marowak.

Seeing as I know Dubba doesn’t like tart flavors, it was up to me to bite the bullet and review this flavor. I still don’t see how lavender will taste pleasant at all but I’ll try to keep an open mind. It is Ben & Jerry’s after all and they rarely produce a subpar flavor. If there’s one thing this flavor has going for it, it is that it helps promote the JumpStart charity. Jumpstart is an early education organization serving children in low-income neighborhoods. So even if this flavor bombs, at least I know some good would have come out of it.

I don’t usually comment on smell but once I removed the lid, I was hit by a pleasant lemon aroma. The top layer isn’t all that surprising. You have the off white almost yellow base with a bit of the swirl peeking out. Tasting the base alone, it is nice and lemony without any bit of tartness. The lemon flavor is by no means subtle but it’s not that strong either. It’s a middle road for intensity and works really well in this greek frozen yogurt. All and all, it’s a very refreshing base that I could see myself enjoying on its own.

Okay, now let’s move on to the part that terrifies me the most, the blueberry lavender swirl. I have to say, Ben & Jerry’s did an excellent job with it. The flavor is predominantly blueberry with just a hint of a little something extra which I’m guessing is the lavender. It’s not even close to as unpleasant as I had imagined and I might even say it helps the lemon base shine. My only complaint, which I never thought I’d say, is that I wish it was more prevalent. It just compliments so nicely with the lemon. Man, I was so ready to pick this flavor apart and now I find myself actually really enjoying this flavor. It might not be the lemon cookie flavor I would’ve liked but it’s still really good. I tip my hat to you, Ben & Jerry’s.

Ha, when I saw the product I figured it had to be you...I haven't been brave enough to pick up any of their Greek froyo except the Vanilla Honey Caramel, but I have to admit you make it look very pretty with that purple swirl. I may have to examine my current opinions about mixing fruit with ice cream.

@Roger: It seems like the further we get from the products release, the more comments that say this flavor is gritty. I'm guessing this is one of those flavors in which you need a fresh batch because it doesn't handle freezers too well.